Farahnaz
فرحناز
(CANADA)
“What are we going to do? What is the future? Everything was a blur. Everything was so unclear.”
Farahnaz performed with Sa Band, a music group from the west of Kabul. Sa Band’s performances used to air nationwide on Afghan television before the Taliban took over the country. In addition to being a talented musician, Farahnaz was also a gifted student. She graduated from the acclaimed Marefat High School and was attending medical school in Kabul. Her medical studies came to a halt in August 2021. Listen to Farahnaz’s journey and imagine all that Afghanistan has lost.
Q1: What is a single memory or story you remember from Afghanistan?
I had lived my whole life in Afghanistan, so there are so many memories that I believe will stay with me for the rest of my life. But I think the most important memory is the day that I graduated from school, because it was a big achievement, an achievement that I had to work toward for twelve years. There were so many people around me cheering me on and saying that they were proud of me for doing such thing.
Q2: Tell us the exact moment you decided to leave Afghanistan.
The first week that the Taliban came to Kabul, it was hard to believe. I was witnessing that there were literally Taliban members in the streets, but I couldn’t believe it. I needed some time to digest what was happening.
When it happened, so many people were leaving the country and the airport was full of people, and we were so afraid because we thought the Taliban would torture or kill us or not let us live happily like before. So we were trying our best to find a way to get out of the country.
Then I received a call, and they told me that we had to travel to Mazar-i-Sharif to be able to get out of Afghanistan. I told my parents and we left Kabul for Mazar. We spent thirteen days or more in Mazar, but could not find a way to get out of the country from there. So, we had to go back to Kabul — we received another call that we had to go back to Kabul.
I think the worst days were those that we stayed in Mazar. Because there were so many Taliban, we had to stay at home because we could not allow the Taliban to find out who we were, because if our identities were leaked, then we could not get out of Afghanistan.
Some families were living in hotels, which was financially difficult. And we had to stay in our relative’s home, which was also not nice to stay in for more than two weeks. We kept thinking, What are we going to do? What is the future? Everything was a blur. Everything was so unclear. That was the hardest part. And then we moved to Pakistan and I stayed there for a month. And then I came here.
Q3: What was something important that you brought with you? Or what is something you wanted to bring with you but could not?
If I had to say just one thing, I would say, my country, because I want to live there again. Here, there are so many beautiful places, beautiful people, but still it is not the same as the place that you’ve grown up in.
I’m thinking of everything — like the streets, the people, schools, everything.
Q4: If you could send a message that will be heard in thirty years, what would it be?
When you’re twenty — it’s an age where you’re not a teenager anymore and you have to start acting like an adult. It comes with so many responsibilities. You have to get your life together. You have to know what you want to do with your life.
If you’re asking for me personally, I would probably say to myself: Invest your time better. Read more books. Try to meet and get in touch with smart and good people.
Five
Months
Later
پنج ماه بعد
Videos of Farahnaz practicing her vocal performances since she arrived in Canada.
“It is over. Farzana’s story and all her dreaming cannot endure in Afghanistan. Today, Farzana is a refugee, a person who has lost everything.”